HANZEN Alexei

HANZEN Alexei

Alexei Vasilievich HANZEN (1876–1937), also Alexey Vasilyevich Hanzen, and also, Ganzen, and in Cyrillic: Алексей Васильевич Ганзен

Russian / Ukrainian

"View of Gruž Bay from the Olympia Villa in Dubrovnik"

Oil on Canvas, signed lower right, Dubrovnik, Croatia, circa 1926–1929,

Some paintings are landscapes. This one is a home.

After leaving Russia following the Revolution, Alexei Hanzen and his wife, Olimpiada, settled in Dubrovnik, where in 1922 he purchased a villa overlooking Gruž Bay and named it Villa Olympia in her honor.

In 1925, Olimpiada’s daughter-in-law, Varvara Muruzi, and her young son, Mikhail “Misha” Muruzi (1922–1933), were permitted to leave Russia and joined the Hanzens at Villa Olympia. Varvara’s husband, Konstantin, was not. After attempting to escape Russia with his brother, he was arrested and imprisoned. At Villa Olympia, Varvara and Misha waited and hoped for his arrival.

Nearly a century later, Irina Kasatskaya, Hanzen’s great-granddaughter and the leading authority on his life and work, recognized Villa Olympia and Gruž Bay in this painting and confirmed its authenticity. Together with her daughter, she identified three figures on the terrace: Varvara, her son Misha, and a man who, according to Irina, may represent the absent Konstantin.

The scene may therefore represent the family reunion for which they were all waiting: Varvara reunited with her husband and Misha beside his father, together at last at Villa Olympia. As Irina beautifully suggested, its underlying theme could simply be:

“Family. We Are Together.”

Tragically, the reunion never came. In April 1933, Konstantin was executed in the Soviet Union. At almost the same time in Dubrovnik, eleven-year-old Misha died of meningitis. Varvara, only 31, lost both her husband and her son.

Seen through this history, the painting acquires extraordinary poignancy: a family together, perhaps only on canvas.

Alexei Vasilievich Hanzen, grandson of the celebrated marine painter Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, painted the sea throughout his life. Here, however, the sea is more than his subject: the landscape is his landscape, the terrace is his home, and the people are his family.

We acknowledges Docantic whose research and investigation recovered the artist, the location, and the history behind this painting. The complete investigation can be read in the dedicated Docantic article.

Morateur Gallery especially expresses its deepest gratitude to Irina Kasatskaya for her generosity, access to her family archives, and invaluable assistance in authenticating and documenting this remarkable work.

We are also honored that she has devoted an article on her website to this discovery, and sincerely thank her for sharing the painting’s remarkable history.

Collectors and researchers wishing to learn more about Hanzen and Irina’s research are warmly encouraged to visit:

Hanzen Gallery - Irina Kasatskaya

Through research and Irina’s extraordinary contribution, this painting has not simply recovered its identity. Its story, and the family within it, has been brought back to life.

Price : Upon Request

Materials / Techniques: Oil on Canvas